


The Right Thing To Do

by emphasisonem



Series: Idylwood [7]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Small Town, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-03
Updated: 2016-08-03
Packaged: 2018-07-29 04:09:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7669540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emphasisonem/pseuds/emphasisonem
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve actually stumbles back a little bit when he opens his front door about half an hour after he gets home from work to see Sharon standing outside with a bouquet of yellow roses. She holds out the flowers and Steve accepts them, attempting to make some sense of his ex showing up on his doorstep with roses.</p><p>  <b>In which Bucky helps Sharon apologize.</b></p>
            </blockquote>





	The Right Thing To Do

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly couldn't wait to post this because I'm going to post the first part of my post-"Who I Am Inside" fic exploring Steve and Bucky's budding relationship later today. There will still be prequel fics, as I still have a couple of ideas, but I'm really excited to dive into this relationship :) Anyway, hope you like this little bit of fluff!

Sharon Carter walks into the shop the day before Steve’s birthday, eyes narrowing as she spots Bucky behind the counter working on arrangement for a funeral in the next town over. Bucky’s eyes widen; Sharon has never come into the shop and he certainly hadn’t expected to see her here given the cold looks she’d given him in the wake of her breakup with Steve. She doesn’t glare at him anymore when they pass each other in the street, but Bucky gets the distinct feeling that the woman doesn’t like him much.

Bucky steps away from the arrangement, a careful smile on his face as he addresses Steve’s ex.

“Mornin’ Sharon,” he begins as the woman steps up to the counter. The bright blue sundress she’s wearing is smart and her hair is pulled back into a sleek ponytail, but her face looks drawn and tired, as though she’s been losing sleep over something.  “Help ya with somethin’?”

For a moment, it looks like Sharon’s about to really lay into him. Bucky’s not sure what the hell he’s done to make her angry, but he waits. If she needs to unload on him, he’ll let her.

But Sharon just sighs, the fire going out of her eyes and her shoulders slumping.

“I didn’t know who else to talk to,” Sharon begins, voice a little shaky, and for the first time Bucky thinks about how hard this breakup must have hit her, even if she _is_ the one who ended things with Steve.

“Ok,” Bucky’s tone is cool as he leans forward against the counter. He’s willing to listen, but he doesn’t want to give Sharon the impression that he’s all right with the way she treated Steve. “So talk.”

“I know I must seem terrible to you,” Sharon begins, voice quiet, but steadier now. “I seem kind of terrible to me too. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did when Steve came out to me. It was selfish and cruel, but-” Sharon pauses, searching for the right words. Bucky nods in encouragement.

“It just came as a shock is all,” Sharon sighs as she meets Bucky’s eyes. “I know that’s a shitty excuse. And I don’t really care if he likes guys too. We’d have fought about it since he kept it from me, sure, but that wouldn’t have been a dealbreaker. That’s not the real reason we’re over.”

Bucky can feel his eyebrows shoot up toward his hairline, and Sharon laughs at his obvious surprise. It’s a rusty sound, and Bucky wonders how long it’s been since Sharon’s found something genuinely amusing.

“I see he gave you an abbreviated version of events,” Sharon smiles. “I’m not surprised. He has some… some feelings to sort out, I guess. I hate the way things ended, but I know now that they were going to end no matter what. We just weren’t a forever couple; I don’t think we’d really been _in love_ for a while. But we were comfortable and it was easy to stay together until - well, until it wasn’t easy for one of us anymore. So, I want to talk to him. To apologize and to let him know that I support him. And that if he can ever forgive me and wants me as a friend, I’m here.”

Bucky stares at Sharon for a moment, unsure of how to proceed. He doesn’t know Sharon well enough to actively dislike her, but he’s hardly had a favorable view of the woman since finding Steve alone and miserable in The Howling Commando. But Sharon’s soft brown eyes are pleading, and it only takes Bucky a minute to decide that helping her is the right course of action.

“Well, the best apologies involve flowers, and god knows Steve’s a sucker for them,” Bucky replies with a sigh. “Yellow roses say ‘I’m sorry,’ which is lucky since roses are his favorite. Let me see what I have in stock.”

“Thank you,” Sharon catches Bucky by the arm, smiling even as her eyes well up with tears. “Really, Bucky, thank you.”

Bucky shrugs. “He loved you once. Still does in a way, and I want my friend to be happy. I think this will help.”

“I hope so,” Sharon sighs, releasing Bucky. “I really do.”

 

* * *

 

Steve actually stumbles back a little bit when he opens his front door about half an hour after he gets home from work to see Sharon standing outside with a bouquet of yellow roses. She holds out the flowers and Steve accepts them, attempting to make some sense of his ex showing up on his doorstep with roses.

“Can I come in?” Sharon asks, voice soft and tentative. Steve’s heart aches for a moment as he notes the way the blue of her dress looks against her skin, the way the sun glints off her blond hair. She’s still so beautiful, and he wishes with all his heart that things were better between them. He doesn’t trust his voice at the moment, so he nods and motions her inside.

“I came to apologize,” Sharon begins. “It’s your birthday tomorrow and I’ve been thinking about you all week and how badly things ended. And about how that’s really my fault.”

“Shar-” Steve starts to interject, but Sharon stops him.

“Just let me get this out,” Sharon begs, eyes pleading, so Steve nods. “I was awful. I shouldn’t have freaked out like I did, shouldn’t have called you confused. I was just… I was so angry. I thought we had everything figured out and all of a sudden there’s this guy and the way you two were around each other, it’s like the rug was pulled out from under my whole life. I was so afraid of losing you, and I ended up pushing you away. And it was wrong. Not to end it; that was the right thing to do, and I think we both know that. But I should have supported you. I should have been more understanding.”

“I get why you weren’t,” Steve replies. “I should have told you sooner. But it hurt like hell when you treated me like that once you knew.”

“I know it did,” Sharon breathes. “I’m so, so sorry, Steve. Can you forgive me?”

“Yes,” Steve replies. “Yes, I can forgive you, Shar. I think I can even be your friend one day. Not just yet, but pretty soon. And I'm sorry too. I never meant to hurt you. I never expected anybody like Bucky, and I just. God, I'm so sorry. Can you forgive me?”

“Yeah,” Sharon is smiling through her tears and Steve sets the flowers down, embracing her and holding her tight as she begins to cry tears of relief.

Steve chuckles as his own eyes begin to water. “I think we’re gonna be ok.”

Sharon pulls away, laughing and wiping her eyes. “God, I’m a mess. Thank you, Steve.”

Steve nods and offers Sharon a beer which she gratefully accepts.

“So, what _is_ up with you and Bucky these days?” and Steve has to stifle that belly laugh that wants to escape his throat when he recognizes the teasing tone of Sharon’s voice as the walk into his kitchen.

“We’re friends, Shar,” Steve grins as he pulls a bottle from the fridge and hands it to her, grabbing one for himself as well.

“Right, friends,” Sharon smiles, taking a sip. “Because friends look at each other the way you two do.”

“It’s not like that,” Steve insists, resolutely ignoring the blush he can feel rising to his cheeks. “He’s not into me.” _Even if he does flirt with me from time to time_ , he thinks. _He’s just bored and he thinks it’s funny when I blush._

“You always were pretty oblivious, Rogers,” Sharon chuckles. “I mean, it took months of flirting before I finally had to tell you I wanted to go out with you. But I’m sure you two will figure things out eventually.”

Steve shakes his head, a rueful smile on his face. The grin disappears as he remembers the flowers sitting in the living room. “Did he-”

“Sell me the flowers?” Sharon interrupts with a sly grin. “Yeah, he did. He’s a good guy, Steve. He clearly cares about you.”

“Yeah,” Steve knows he’s talking, but his voice is distant. He and Bucky don’t talk much about Sharon, but there’s always a wariness in Bucky’s eyes when the woman is mentioned. Steve knows Bucky hates the fact that Sharon hurt him, but he helped her anyway because-

Because _why?_

Steve waits, the question lingering at the back of his mind as he chats with Sharon. As soon as she’s out the door, Steve’s grabbing his keys and heading out the front door, jogging to his friend’s house.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, Steve!” Bucky exclaims as he opens his door and sees the blond standing on his stoop. He blinks rapidly, taking in the other man’s sweaty and disheveled appearance. “Did you run here, man? It’s like 95 degrees out.”

“Yeah,” Steve pants, and Bucky admires the way Steve looks so damn handsome even like this. “Yeah, I jogged.”

“Why?” Bucky chuckles, pulling Steve into his air conditioned front hallway. “You have a car, Steve.”

“Wasn’t thinkin’, I guess,” Steve’s breathing a little easier as he wipes sweat from his brow. “I just had a question.”

“So, you ran over instead of drivin’ or, you know, callin’?” Bucky can’t keep the smile off his face. He wonders if Steve will ever do anything he _won’t_ find endearing and doubts it.  

Steve doesn’t answer, but fixes Bucky with his direct blue gaze and asks, “Why’d you help Sharon today?”

 _Because I’m half in love with you and I want you to be happy, you nitwit_ , Bucky considers shouting, but manages not to make a complete fool of himself.

“She was a paying customer same as anybody else, Stevie,” Bucky tries, shifting under the intensity of his friend’s stare. “Can’t refuse to sell people flowers based on my personal feelings.”

“Bucky,” Steve’s voice is firm and he’s clearly intent on getting a real answer out of the brunet. “Why did you help her?”

Bucky sighs, motioning for Steve to follow him into the living room. “Let me get you a glass of water, Steve. Sit down.” Bucky waits for Steve to take a seat and then heads into the kitchen, trying to figure out how exactly to answer this question without telling Steve how he feels. He doesn’t want to put any pressure on the blond, not now when he’s bound to be in a mixed-up, emotional state because of Sharon’s apology. It wouldn’t be fair.

“Because it was the right thing to do,” Bucky answers as he re-enters the living room, handing Steve the water as he sits down beside the other man. “Because you still love her, even if it’s not romantic anymore. Because you needed closure and you deserved an apology. But mostly because you’re my friend and because it was the right thing to do.”

Steve is staring at him, the look on his face inscrutable as he sets the glass of water down on the table. Then the blond’s strong arms are wrapped around him, and Bucky stiffens at the sudden invasion of his personal space. Steve really does have a knack for surprising him with physical affection.

“Thank you,” Steve breathes as he grips Bucky tight. Bucky tentatively returns the embrace, savoring the feel of Steve’s arms around him. It’s warm and safe and it feels like _home_ , which kind of scares the shit out of Bucky, but in a good way.

“You’re welcome,” Bucky replies as he pulls back even though he’d sort of like to stay in Steve’s embrace forever. “Did everything go ok?”

“Yeah,” Steve grins, picking up the glass of water and gulping some of it down. “Yeah. I think we’re gonna be ok.”

“Good,” Bucky nods. “I’m glad. Listen, I was just about to fix up a burger for myself, and I have enough for two. Why don’t you cool down and I’ll make you one too. You can stay and watch the ballgame.”

“Yeah,” Steve replies, and Bucky’s glad to see a genuine smile on his friend’s face and that the tension has left his body. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

Steve follows Bucky into the kitchen, chatting as he prepares dinner, and they spend the rest of the night joking, laughing, and yelling at the umpires who clearly don’t know what the hell a strike zone is.

 

* * *

 

Steve is lying in bed later that night, mulling over today’s events, when he hears his phone buzzing on his nightstand. He grabs it, smiling at the familiar name and picture. The text from Bucky (which of course came in _exactly_ at midnight) reads _Happy birthday, Steve! Hope you’re ready for your Fudgey the Whale!_

Steve texts back a thank you and assures Bucky he’s looking forward to it, then drifts off to sleep with a smile on his face, wondering how he’s going to keep himself from falling head over heels for his friend.

But then, Steve thinks as sleep slowly begins to envelop him, maybe he doesn’t _want_ to keep from falling.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
